Welbutrin to stay alert

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea I was put on Welbutrin and Nuvagil to stay awake. After my diagnosis and I started my therapy I was taken off of the Nuvagil. We have tried to wean me off of the Welbutrin but I start to get very tired again and get put back on it. My numbers are awesome. Last night my leak was 0.0, AHI was 2.8, my AI was 0.0 and my HI was 2.8 (on a resmed, so 1.4 on other machines). My pressure is set at 8. Has anyone else had this issue getting off of Welbutrin? I really would prefer not to take it if at all possible. My doctor is awesome, very easy to talk to and I see him every 3 months. Is there something else that I should talk to him about to get myself off of this stuff? By the way, I am only taking Welbutrin for the sleepiness, not depression.

Oh yeah, i am the one who did 130 miles on my bike 2 weekends ago. Energy is not a problem.

What dose of Welbutrin?

How slowly did you try to wean?

Are you taking anything else that might interact with Welbutrin or could contribute to sedation?

I can identify with wanting to go off the meds if possible. I've never heard of taking Welbutrin for alertness, but it makes sense, I guess. I would think that this is a crappy time of year to try to wean off of something that has antidepressant effects, though. I've done mental health counseling and many of my clients' depression would worsen around now because of Seasonal Affective Disorder (less light, less vitamin D, less exercise). If you've ever had the winter blues for more than a couple days at a time, you might be susceptible.

So, all is not lost if you *do* have S.A.D. Try taking a walk outside first thing in the morning, or sitting in front of strong, full-spectrum light for at least half an hour when you first get up. Get plenty of exercise (check with your doctor first). Look up S.A.D. and see what else is recommended. And goodness knows, lots of people have vitamin D deficiency in the winter. I think I read a study that 50% of people studied in Calgary in the wintertime had low vitamin D. You can try a vitamin D supplement (ask your doctor or pharmacist how much).

If worse comes to worst and you can't wean off just now, you might want to put it off until springtime. The extra boost provided by that time of year might put you over the edge into "good enough without it" territory.

Good luck!
Kirsten

M.D. Hosehead---Sorry it took so long to get back. I am on the generic version, Bupropion HCL XL 300mg. Tried to wean off over the course of a month. And I am only on Allegra (Allergies) and Prozac (for PMDD). You know I never thought of the fact that it could be the Prozac. I remember the sleepiness when being put on it at first, but that went away like I was told it would.

Kristena---I have heard of S.A.D. but never really thought much of it. When I was 21 I was diagnosed with PMDD and was put on 20mg Prozac once a day. I have been on that ever since. I have never felt depressed, excessively sad or anything like that ever. The Prozac just mellows me out. I don't get so uptight and angry while on it, basically helps all of the non-physical symptoms of really bad PMS. I will have mention SAD to my doctor though when we talk about taking me off of it again.

Is there something wrong with my therapy if I become too tired after being taken off of it? I never had any trouble adjusting to CPAP and I have always had good numbers when it comes to my therapy.

Maybe the trick is to stay off the Welbutrin long enough (I know it's hard) to level off, not to feel so tired afterward, take more vitamins, anything to get it out of your system. Part of the reason it works so well when you want to quit smoking is because quitting makes you very sleepy and the buprion counters that, so of course it's going to fight with your OSA too.

I've never heard of using Welbutrin for alertness either. I was on it for years for depression. I've been off Welbutrin since going on Savella. Savella addresses both the pain & depression of my fibromyagia whereas the Welbutrin only helped the depression. I do use Nuvigil since my chronic fatigue syndrome has not been helped by CPAP use. I'm still tired much of the time, but not utterly exhausted as I was before starting to use Nuvigil. I've never had any trouble getting off SSDI meds or switching them, although I know some people need to titrate both on and off.

Ched,

There are bupropion 100 mg tablets (generic). They are not extended release, but you can use them to try cutting down to 200 mg a day, for example 100 mg morning and noon.

Actually, I went on Wellbutrin XL before my OSA diagnosis, when I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Hypersomnia, but I didn't want to go back on wake-promoting agents if other medications would work. It does not have strong alerting side effects, but it has enough that insomnia is one of the side effects. I took 150mg because when I went up to 300mg in the XL, I did have insomnia and other undesirable side effects.

Are you saying you are not tired on the Wellbutrin XL, but when you taper off, you get tired? How have you tapered off? Are you sure the sleepiness isn't due to going off the Nuvigil?

ched03 wrote:I am on ... Bupropion HCL XL 300mg ... Allegra (Allergies) and Prozac (for PMDD).

::winceing:: The doc(s) that prescribed the bupropion and Prozac know that you're on both, I hope. Back in the day, I worked in mental health. The docs always told me that patients should't be on two different antidepressants at the same time. Don't know if the philosophy has changed or not.

Yes, he knows and it was only meant to be temporary. I hate putting so many drugs in my body. The prozac is a must, I know that. I am one mean B**** when I am not on it.

ched03 wrote:The prozac is a must, I know that. I am one mean B**** when I am not on it.

Then by all means stay on the Prozac! Wellbutrin is not very good at keeping you awake. You may need to check about how fast to wean off of it as it (or getting off of it) is somehow related to seizures. If you feel better from therapy then it's probably a good idea to get off of it if it is not needed.

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Yes, the philosphy about being on two antidepressents has changed. Many times one is used as an asjunct when the first is not totally successful alone. Why not just stay on the Wellbutrin, or go back to the Nuvigil? I have ideohypersomnia and take Nuvigil. I understand wanting to take as few drugs as possible, but sometimes they are necessary. Good luck, keep us posted.

Just thought I would share my story and experience. I have been on cpap for 3 years and my numbers have been pretty good. I am still tired all the time and I even went back for another sleep study last year to see if there was anything the sleep doctors were overlooking. Nothing showed up and they told me my apnea was totally under control with the use of cpap. I was prescribed Nuvigil to try it but it did nothing for me except give me headaches. Plus, even if it would have worked, it was way too expensive to stay on (no generic). So, I've continued to fight fatigue and feeling like I don't want to do anything but nap all the time. I had my blood checked which included complete thyroid check and everything checked out ok. Finally, I was sick of it. I went to my doctor in desperation and he told me to give Concerta a try. It's a stimulant, but it doesn't make me hyper at all. It is actually for ADHD but a side effect is increased alertness. I have been on it now for two months and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! It is the only thing that has worked for me and absolutely no side effects. I am alive again! I started excersizing again and living like a normal human being! Whats so great about it also, is that there is a generic for it now and it only costs $8 a month!!